Spinacia

Plant Characteristics

Lifespan:	⌛	annual, biennial

Cultivation

Scientific Names

Chenopodiaceae >

Spinacia >

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Spinacia is the spinach genus.

Read about Spinacia in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Spinacia (from spina; alluding to the spiny fruit). Chenopodiaceae. Spinach. Spinage. According to Volkens (in Engler & Prantl's "Pflanzenfamilien"), there are only two species of Spinacia, S. oleracea, Linn., the common spinach, and S. tetrandra, Stev., although Bentham & Hooker had made the genus to include four species. S. tetrandra is an annual herb of the Asia Minor-Persian region, and is not in cultivation. S. oleracea, the spinach, is probably native to southwestern Asia, and it is now widely cultivated. It is an annual herb, developing rather large arrow-shaped root-leaves, and these leaves are eaten for "greens." Later in the season it sends up a branching flower-stem 2 to 3 feet high, bearing axillary clusters of seed-like fruits. In one type these fruits are spiny: this is the form once described as S. spinosa, Moench, but which is not now considered to be specifically distinct. Whether the round-seeded or the prickly-seeded type is the original form of the spinach is not known, but as a matter of nomenclature, Linnaeus' S. oleracea, which is the oldest name, is held to include all. Spinacia belongs to the Atriplex tribe. The genus is distinguished from Atriplex in the fact that the pistillate flowers are bractless, whereas those of Atriplex are inclosed in a pair of enlarging calyx-like bracts. Spinacia is dioecious, bearing the flowers in small axillary clusters; stamens 4 or 5, in a 4- to 5-lobed calyx; ovary 1, with 4 to 5 styles or stigmas, in a 2- to 4-toothed calyx, this calyx hardening and inclosing the achene and often becoming horned on the sides and giving rise to "prickly-seeded" spinach. The cultivated forms have developed much thicker and broader radical leaves, which are used for greens, often showing little of the halberd or sagittate shape. See Spinach. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Species

• Spinacia oleracea
• Spinacia tetrandra
• Spinacia turkestanica

Gallery

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References

• Spinacia oleracea - L. - Plants for a future

External links

• w:Spinacia. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Spinacia QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)